Anxiety About Getting A Job
I'm 22-years-old and my family both jokingly and seriously refer to me as lazy, a moocher, entitled, or all three. This is because, well, I have really bad anxiety about getting a job. When I was 18 I was really excited to work and make money and I landed a position at a Pizza Hut.
I dealt with a manager who would scream at me randomly because she thought it was funny when I jumped, she would stand above me and talk down to me in an aggressive way and then shrug it off as "you know I'm joking, right?" and she would sexually harass me like pushing my head against her pants when I leaned down to grab something under the make table. I had another manager that insisted I couldn't go home unless all of my work was done, there weren't any customers, and the chef after me showed up on time. I always fulfilled the first but the second two never happened. Most days I had to stay an hour late. That turned into having to stay for dinner rush.
So I'm incredibly anxious about applying to jobs or imagining working somewhere again. But I know that I have to because 1) I need at least 6+ months of having a job at minimum to be able to rent an apartment or house, and 2) I need to make money so I can move out, pay my own bills, etc. At my age my parents have started pulling back on buying things for me. I haven't seen a dentist in two years.
But I'm scared of having a really negative job experience again. I guess something that might help me is exercising positive thinking instead when imagining applying for a job. What if these might be my new best friends? What if this is the most fun place to work and I don't know yet?
Wow, that is an absolutely awful experience you had. You have a right to feel the way you do. Jobs were tough for me as well, even without having the experience you had. Though, I do want to let you know they are most definitely not all like that.
I say, try a job, and if it's awful, quit right away and find a new one. I always felt bad about this when I did it when I was younger, but honestly, to me it's like dating, you sometimes have to try them out to find the right one :) And it worked for me.
I am now older with a family and career and FINALLY in a job I absolutely love. It has taken me awhile to find it, and that's totally ok. I had good and bad jobs along the way. Most of which I met my best friends at, and husband ☺️
Best friend...working at Sears
Husband....working at a furniture store 😆
Though, if the job is causing you great amounts of anxiety, leave it, or report the situation. Your feelings are valid!! It's ok to have them, and it's ok to keep trying to work on how you hope to feel and what you want to experience in life. ☺️
Thank you so much. This response has helped me a lot. I come back and I read this from time to time when I start to worry again.
@bunnygarden
The harassment you went through was WRONG and your anxiety is valid. But you have to realize that it was a problem with those people at that restaurant. It doesn't happen everywhere and it doesn't mean it's going to happen again. I spent a month at a job where the manager screamed and yelled at everyone all the time, putting them all down. I quit ASAP and he couldn't figure out why I'd quit. (Uh, hello??!?!)
Is it possible that the next job you get you'll work with some more of the same type of people. It's a rare chance, but it could happen. BUT, the minute you see it happening, you can leave. Don't feel like you're stuck there. You aren't. Especially now when every place on the planet is hiring!
Definitely get out there and apply for another job. Even if it's a small, part time job to start. Once you start working again you're going to start feeling better.
You're going to do great!
